I’ve never pretended to be a great singer even though I was a voice major when I studied music in college. That was purely a function of having to declare a “major instrument” to study music and at that time at little Wilkes College (now Wilkes University) in Pennsylvania the guitar was considered about as legitimate as a kazoo. But I could carry a tune, took voice lessons and was even selected to be a part of the elite choral group in the music department. But I never thought I was all that good, and I probably wasn’t.

I do remember a few things from those voice lessons though and lately I’ve been trying to put them into practice to at least get back to the place I was 20 or so years ago when I sang with groups and gigged and practiced regularly. The unfortunate truth is that for the last 20 years while teaching I’ve been neglecting the techniques I learned way-back-when and it shows. I do have a bit of an excuse, though not a very good one: when recording lessons for my students to practice I unconsciously began singing softer and in a more constricted fashion so my voice didn’t overwhelm the guitar, which of course was what I wanted my students to hear most on the recordings.

That doesn’t mean I had to abandon what I knew to be correct singing technique. It’s certainly possible to sing softly and also sing well but that comes down more than anything else to breath control, NOT constricting the throat – and that’s what I was doing. For a long, long time. And I paid the price.

Breath control does not come from the throat, it comes from the lungs and especially from the gut. In order to exercise control from those regions I should be standing up when I sing and my posture should be relaxed but straight, not slumped over. Any good singer will tell you that, trained or untrained. But while I’m teaching and demonstrating guitar method that is just not practical. I don’t want to be standing while my student is sitting….that looks awkward and bit silly and possibly pompous, I think. And I cannot expect my students to stand with me and play. Although I encourage them to use a strap even when sitting and playing, 99% of them would find it very difficult to stand and play. If I could get them to do that when they are practicing at home perhaps they would accept it at lessons but my guess is that is not going to happen. So there is my dilemma as it relates to correct breathing/singing technique.

So for the last few months I’ve been trying to be aware of my breathing at all times when I sing. Little things that I remember from voice lessons, like taking a breath the moment before I sing a phrase and varying the depth of that breath to be sure I won’t be struggling at the end of the phrase. Sitting up as straight as possible. The natural tendency with every guitarist whether sitting or standing is to slump forward because the depth of the guitar makes it very difficult to see the front of the neck if you don’t slump. But slumping is very bad in terms of keeping a straight line for the air to escape in a controlled fashion from your lungs and slumping while sitting is even worse.

Opening the mouth wide is crucial too and this is definitely something I have to remind myself to do. Part of my unconscious attempt to sing softly over the last 20 years while teaching has involved keeping my mouth much more closed than it should be. I’m trying to remedy that but it’s hard to do. A mouth that is open wide, regardless if you’re singing softly or loud is the “open gate” for the breath to escape. This also helps in keeping the throat relaxed.Then there is the hurdle of pitch. No matter the overall quality of our singing, if you sing “in tune” you will sound much, much better than if you are flat or sharp. There are many exercises to help with this but two things that have worked for me in the past and I’m trying to re-establish are practicing singing while picking out the melody to a song; this allows me to focus purely on the notes I should be singing pitch-wise rather than trying to find the melody buried in chords. The other thing – and this is crucial where harder passages in a song is concerned – is to kind of “sing” that note in your head a moment before you go for it. Just like when playing a guitar solo while improvising, if you have an idea what the next note will sound like BEFORE you attempt it, you will find far more success. I think the vast majority of singers who are not professionals just kind of listen to what’s coming out of their mouths rather than having an idea what it will sound like before they sing it. Then, to a greater or lesser degree they adjust their tonality as needed. If a singer is having a rough time, you can hear this happening.

Knowing your real range rather than just your comfort zone is an essential part of the process. Those darn high notes are tough for everyone but some singers seem to hit them with ease; this is because they are employing the techniques I mentioned above, especially breathing deeply and remaining relaxed. Most of us can hit notes that feel out of our range if we work on it and you know what? Believe it or not, most people sound best in the upper part of their singing range. When I listen to recordings of myself singing I know this to be true. The trick is to not make it sound like you’re straining. Remember to breath! If you listen to a recording of yourself in your comfort zone I think you’ll be surprised to hear that everything you’re singing sounds too low, in terms of overall vocal quality otherwise known as timbre. Forcing yourself to stay relaxed might seem to be an absurd concept but it is essential for good singing but if you’re relaxed those high notes will come, with time.

But what about that delicate subject, our age? There is no doubt that even the best singers lose some of their range as they get older. I’ve heard reports of some bands like the Eagles, known for their crystalline high harmonies have recently begun playing some of their songs in slightly lower keys, and I know for certain that some individual singers like Bonnie Raitt are doing that. But that’s just fine! Better to learn a song in a more comfortable key than the original version and have it be more comfortable to sing than the key that was used by someone much younger with greater range. I’ve been doing this with quite a few songs lately and I like the results, although in some cases I can’t exactly replicate the chord inversions on the guitar that were found in the original. So it goes.

I’m determined to keep working on my singing, no matter what. Because I know that when everything works as it should it is oh so gratifying to know you nailed a song, both in playing and singing.

To expand a bit on the previous post: OK, I admit it. I am obsessed with sound. Or more accurately, the quality of sound. There is a bit of irony here I think because with my hearing not what it once was (due in no small part to electric guitar amplifiers turned up WAY too high) I have focused more and more on sound reinforcement rather than the pure sound of an unamplified acoustic guitar. Put more simply, it’s become more difficult for me to recognize the very subtle qualities of one good quality acoustic guitar compared to another. I still know a good one when I hear it, thank goodness, but with this diminishing of my hearing range those “wow” moments I used to experience on the first strum of an incredible guitar have become fewer and fewer.

Probably because I have three fantastic sounding Martins, M-36, Custom Shop D-35 Seth Avett and Custom Shop Sinker D-18 I have become less and less affected by the affliction we guitarists call GAS: Guitar Acquisition Syndrome. That is the never-ending search of the perfect guitar that probably doesn’t exist. All three of those Martins have distinct and fabulous voices and they are all quite different. Each suits an aspect of my playing style very well but in reality any one of them could cover my bases just fine. All are equipped with passive pick-ups, K&K in the two dreadnoughts and Dazzo in the M-36. So they all sound terrific either acoustically or amplified. But the final link in the amplification chain is where I’ve really been obsessing for the last couple of years: the amplifier.

I think in the last five years or so I’ve tried most of the higher end amps and quite a few lesser ones. Most had strong points and weak points, whether in design or sound. About the only brand that I just do not like is Fishman. To my ear, all their amps have a very artificial and unnatural sound. I know they are very popular however and many guitarists like them just fine. In the higher end makes that I’ve owned such as AER, Schertler, Henrickson and a couple others I’ve found that while the bass end is BIG and deep, the treble end – which is feel is so important in performance – is lacking. I’ve tried to mitigate that through the use of a LR Baggs Align Series Equalizer and that works reasonably well but that means one more piece of equipment to worry about and bring to gigs. Simplicity is almost as important as sound to me; the fewer pieces of gear I have to carry to a gig, the better.

In that regard, it looks like I will be playing at least a couple of gigs at a really nice facility in Boca Raton, Florida when we head down there in a month or so. The dilemma is space. My Tacoma truck has a pretty big back seat but considering we are driving down (and need colder weather clothes for a while), going on a cruise and then staying in a couple places for an extended period of time the packing challenge must be dealt with. I also like to fish, so those toys have to come along. My music gear will consist of my M-36 in a gig bag, my Bose S1 Pro amp, a (collapsed) mic and IPad stand, and a gear bag with various devices, cords and spare parts. My wife and I each will have a large suitcase plus a smaller bag or two. You can see what I’m up against!

But getting back to sound. That Bose S1 is a pretty good sounding amp considering its size and with three inputs I can cover all my amplification needs. However, compared to my primary amp, an ACUS OneForStrings 8 it sounds pretty bland. Not bad, just not rich and sonorous like the ACUS. But that one, while still small enough to be manageable around here is just too big to take on the trip. I am hoping that these gigs at the very fancy place I think I’ll be playing will lead to others, hopefully next year. I would dearly love to get enough work down in Florida in the winter to justify the expense of being there. So you see why I’m so concerned with sound quality in this particular instance.

Am I done buying sound reinforcement gear? Probably not. Many of the big and smaller players in the music world are cranking out new and better amplifiers and devices to improve the sound of an amplified acoustic guitar. I read with great interest my monthly copy of Music Trades magazine, the main publication of the music manufacturing industry. Right now the huge NAMM show is going on in Anaheim, the one I attended last year and I’m sure many companies will be introducing fantastic gear. I couldn’t justify the expense of going to the show this year but I anxiously await reports.

Another piece of equipment that has entered my musical life is an amazing little recording device call the Spire Studio. It is a stand-alone recorder that is paired with a smart phone or tablet (I use my IPad) and some amazing recordings can be done. Among the many great features the Spire has are a built-in, high-quality condenser mic (or inputs with phantom power for other mics, which is what I do), and a built-in compressor/limiter that during a brief “sound check” phase before recording self-adjusts to eliminate distortion even when strumming pretty hard. Eight tracks are available for over-dubs and there are two channels. During the mixing phase you can bring up a track (such as a lead guitar break) and also adds effects such as reverb if needed or wanted. I have finally stopped using CD recording with my students and gone completely to using this device. I record what the student will be practicing and then email them a sound file, which they can then open and save to whatever sound programs they have (such as Itunes) on their phone, tablet or computer.

Almost all my students seem to love this convenient way to get recordings of what they will be practicing. The sound quality is superb and no more worries about CDs that only work for a few songs (or not at all), scratching or losing the CD, and funky things like sound files on supposedly “new” CDs – woo boy, I could tell you stories about that (!!). One or two students have resisted a bit as they are older and somewhat intimidated by the technology knowledge required but if I carefully and patiently explain how the process will work I’m sure they will be fine with it in a short amount of time. And I’d dead certain they will appreciate the quality of the recordings compared to the CDs. Younger students who have grown up with rapidly changing technological advances have no problems whatsoever.

Another cool aspect of the Spire. If you send files to a person who also has the Spire recorder, they can add tracks and send it back to you! I’ve been doing just that with one of my advanced students and we are having a ball. His playing has also improved as he recognizes the importance of getting the “little things” right in his playing….a recorder doesn’t lie or cover up mistakes!

So as time passes and I learn more and more ways to optimize both sound and the use devices that help with it I will let you know. It’s all very exciting!